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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Today I conclude my article on the Ptolemy Bombers. I left off last week after finishing the base coat. The next step is masking the models for the camo effects. This sounds a bit labour intensive but, believe it or not, it was done in just half an hour.

I used a light blue for the camo patterns. In general, I really do not like diluting colours for airbrush use, but since I might need to touch up afterward I took the hassle. Personally, if you can work with pre-thinned paints - then go for it.

The next step was to paint in the metallics and details before a wash. This actually takes more time than the masking and airbrushing.

The last step was the shading and washes. Like the other units, this was done with enamel and oil washes and cleaned up with odourless spirit and q-tips.

And viola - a unit of Ptolemys ready to bomb the hell out of the enemy and lay mines to my heart's desire. Below there is a group shot just to put things into perspective.

Well, another article finished. The next post I start will be with the Icarus medium flyers - or as I like to call them, 'the gunship of the skies'. After that my first resolution is completed - Huray!

Friday, May 16, 2014

Today I start a new article on my Dystopian Wars COA army; the Ptolemy bombers. This is my second flying unit, the first being the Daedalus large flyer.

At first, I wanted my COA fleet to have a coordinated theme and pattern. Since then I have changed my views and have opted for a more eclectic approach. The only common element in the whole fleet will be the white base and the brass elements. The camouflage patterns will differ from unit to unit.

I have also decided to keep a similar pattern with the flyers, but instead of a white base I went for a grey one. So like the Daedalus, the Ptolemy and the Icarus flyers will be grey based o the hull, but white on the top structures - if they have any.

The first step is always the preparation part. We all know what this includes, cleaning, filing filling etc. Since I had four bombers, two from the old box set and two from a blister pack, I did them all in one session. But I went a step further with these fliers.

As you can see from the picture above I bought some flight widgets from Hawk Games of Dropzone Commander fame. This idea was given to me by a friend at my gaming club and they work like a charm. They do not wobble or fall off and offer a tight grip but the models can be easily removed for storage and transport. The best of two worlds - kudos to you Kevin.

There are two problems though. The first is that the flight stand rods are somewhat thicker than the widget, but nothing a light filing cannot fix. The Second is that work well with medium and small fliers, but I had problems with the Daedalus. This is because of the curve of the surface of the hull which makes the widgets ill-fitting.

Also, I recommend buying them from online retailers like Wayland Games - they end up costing a whole in the pocket from Hawk Games due to fixed postage rates. I glued the the widgets on with Araldite - a five minute apoxy resin glue - and I masked the stand and the widget in preparation for airbrushing.

The first steps to airbrushing is the primer stage. As always, and in concert with my other Dystopian War models, I gave it a coat of black Vallejo primer.

For a base coat, I went with the painting philosophy outlined above and mixed up a light shade of grey-blue. At this point I let the whole thing dry properly and started to prepare for the masking part of the process, but this is for the next post!

Well, I will be back next week with the second and final part of this post, until then;

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Lately, in my spare time, I have been working on my Covenant of Antarctica (COA) force. I have been doing this for two reasons. Firstly, so I could play with a painted force, and secondly because it was one of my New Year's resolutions.

My force selection was based o the 1.1 version of the game, were a force was built up by unit choices. With the advent of version 2, this has all changed with the use of battle groups. The pic below shows the new COA battle group in all its glory.

I am really excited and pleased with this new box set, but it does pose some problems. Firstly, I already have 2 battleships, one of them recently painted. Secondly, most of the models in the battle group are new. This means I will have to buy the new box set - this is OK with me as I like the new models.

The problem is that this kind of invalidates my efforts to fulfill my resolution, to paint up my playable force. At this point I think it is wise to wait until the new rulebook and army lists hit the stores before I continue painting up models. In fact, from the Spartan forums I have found out that my 2 units of Plato cruisers are now reclassified as light cruisers! This was done to get them in lie with the new ship model sizes.

So, I will put a halt to Dystopian Wars for now until things are clearer. In the meantime, my Ptolemy bombers, and Icarus medium flyers are done, and I will be posting them this month.

So at this point I will have to choose which one of my resolutions to work on!

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Today I want to write about my Plutarch Destroyers for my COA naval force. To be frank, I haven't had a lot of success with these, simply because my opponent seems to be taken back by their 'aggressive form' and 'terrifying nature'. Well at least I like to think so!

The truth is they tend to get marked for destruction pretty early in the game - but they are one of my favorite units in the army, and I enjoy seeing them on the table.

So it was about high time I started painting them. A few posts back, when I was painting up the Diogenes frigates, I mentioned I wanted my small ships to reflect the paint scheme of fish. No different for the Plutarchs, but instead of a fish, I wanted them to look like orca killer whales! - or as close as possible.

The first step, as always, was a black undercoat, with Vallejo primer. I can't praise this stuff more. Not only is it a great primer but also works as a base coat!

The next step was to airbrush in the white spots of an orca. I had to do a quick search on the internet for this, and found out that most all orcas have more or less the same patterns.

When the white was dry I started to paint I the metallics and trim the white patterns with black paint.

Add details was the next step, followed by some brown and black enamel washes which were cleaned up with white spirit.

Like the other models in my COA army there is no highlighting or shading, just base colours painted on neatly and several washes. This gives a modest yet effective tabletop paint finish to my army. I have to admit these Plutarch 'orca' destroyers have not proven to be very popular with friends - but hey! I like them.

And finally the traditional group shot with a capitol ship, just to put things into perspective with respect to size.

Well that is all for now. Next week it is the turn of the Ptolemy bombers. Until then,

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Today I bought my first White Dwarf in the new format. I have been collecting White Dwarf since the early eighties. My first White Dwarf was the one with the Rogue Trader cover - I think it was issue #97 but I am not sure. Well I collected the mag religiously up till the mid-90's when my interest in the publication started to wane a bit. By the turn of the century I only bought one every year or two, when there was something to do with the Space Wolves, Wood Elves or when a new edition of 40K came out.

So when the Wood Elves came out I opted to buy the new White Dwarf and check it out, and I have to admit I like the return to and older style - it's like they have gone back to form so to speak and are trying to find what made the mag so popular way back in the day. I especially like the fact that rules have finally come back!, and the quality of the paper and presentation is still top notch as expected.

BUT IS IT WORTH IT!

To be honest, I do not really know. The mag is about five times thinner than before and under half the price, but comes out four times a week - also you can only buy the physical copy at your local FLGS. I guess it all depends on your perspective, money flow and preferences.

Personally, I will still keep buying the White Dwarf once in a while, when it has a topic that interests me - like the Wood Elves in this issue. I will probably buy next week's issue as well if there are more Wood Elves - then I will wait until 7th edition 40K comes out to see what has changed and what has remained the same. I doubt I will buy more than that!

So, speaking personally, I will keep my normal buying trend with this new version of the White Dwarf. The new weekly schedule will not make me go down to my FLGS more often nor will I be affected by the hype and expectation it is supposed to create. Yet I am thankful for the changes - it shows that GW is finally beginning to listen to its customers. Maybe there is still hope for them.
As for the Wood Elves, I have to say I am quite pleased with the new miniatures. I think the Treemen are fantastic. They seem like something out of the mind of Guillermo del Toro, like Pan's Labyrinth for example. They have that feel in my opinion. The increase in size from the standard GW treemen is also refreshing. In fact I will probably be using the old treemen as Wood Kin.

Araloth is not bad, overall I do like him, especially the bird, but I think the antlers are too large and rather ridiculous. If I do get him, they will have to be removed or severely trimmed.

This has to be my favorite model overall. The basic treeman. I like everything about him and prefer him to the Ancient and Durthu configurations of the kit. The vines coming out of his palm are really a nice touch.

As for the fluff, I am a bit worried considering the author. I have read the Blood Angel codex and wept for the fluff! So I am a bit apprehensive as you can imagine. After reading the article, I think I should give Mr Ward the benefit of the doubt. He seems to have interesting ideas, but I will have to read them before I judge.

That is all for now. I have just finished my Plutarch destroyers, so they will be featuring next.